Thruway reopens in both directions near Albany after crashes

Updated 6:55 am, Tuesday, February 16, 2016

ROTTERDAM, N.Y. (AP) — The Thruway's eastbound and westbound lanes outside Albany are open again after traffic was shut down when two tractor-trailers crashed an hour apart in the same vicinity.

State police say the first crash occurred around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday in the westbound lanes of Interstate 90 in the town of Rotterdam.

A tractor-trailer jackknifed and slid across the highway, blocking both lanes between Exit 25A and Exit 26. The left lane was reopened soon after the crash but the right lane didn't reopen until just before noon.

The second crash happened around 3:30 a.m. in the eastbound lanes about five miles from the first accident. A FedEx tandem tractor-trailer crashed off the highway between Exit 25A and Exit 25. Both lanes were reopened by 8 a.m.